seven
by sorakaraJIN
Summary: Seven ways they were perfect from the start, and their story finally complete. SasuSaku. One-shot.


**title:** seven

**summary:** Seven ways they were perfect from the start, and their story finally complete. SasuSaku.

**pairing:** sasusaku

**warnings:** Mixed in some non-canon parts, although I tried keeping that and OOCness at a minimal (which may just be to no avail, mind you). Also...spoilers. But if you haven't read the newest manga yet, you won't know what's canon and what's not anyway, so you'll be fine. (Ah, the beauty of fanfiction.)

**note:** I've been shipping SasuSaku for so long, that if it's not canon, I seriously don't know how I'm gonna' live anymore.

**disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto.

_...yet._

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**seven**

_by sorakaraJIN_

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_Seven, the perfect number._

i. 7 colors of the rainbow

At six, it was your smile that made me smile and get butterflies in my stomach.

Now, I'm not sure if you know this, but I used to watch you and the other boys in our little class of fifteen play ball together after class. Because I was just that little bit more mature, people thought I was hard to approach, so no one really talked to me - this was before Ino - and so I always sat alone on the swingset, watching you and the others play. I never said anything, because I felt that if I did, I'd disrupt some kind of perfect harmony that everyone at the park had, and just carried on with my role of swinging and staring.

One day, you threw a perfect toss towards the wall - the weekly basketball games had turned to wall ball - and tripped and fell over. I think I was first rather shocked that you would make this kind of mistake, and then realized that you must've been in a lot of pain, so I yelled for an adult to come and help you while I tried to help you stand up. (Meanwhile, most of the other girls had just screamed at the sight of a bit of blood on your knees and ran away.)

(...Just for the record.)

When you came back the following week for another game of wall ball, I saw you smile at me before making another perfect toss - and not falling over and hurting yourself this time. This made me smile so much that I got off my swing and started jumping up and down, cheering you on.

You came over to me, and asked, really super politely, "Would you like to play with us?"

To which I answered in the most exasperated way, "Yes!"

And so we would always play together, me, you, and the other boys as well, of course, until that older brother of yours would come and pick you up. You'd wave and smile at me, saying our goodbyes, and I'd do the same back, before resigning back to my seat on the swings.

This was before the massacre, of course. Itachi would soon not only take you away from me after every ball game we played, but he'd also take away the warmth of your heart and the naive smile that I fell in love with which won't ever come back.

ii. 7 cosmic stages

At eight, it was your fake smiles and silent suffering that made me cry in your place.

I had heard about the massacre and what happened with your brother from my parents who had heard it from the neighbors - after all, it was the gossip of the village for next three months.

I can imagine how painful and annoying it was for you to be suffering from first the trauma of it all combined with the murmurs and exaggerated sympathy from all the villagers. Which is why, looking back now, I must have been just that much more annoying when I gave you a basket of tomatoes as an out-of-the-blue present and then proceeded with telling you that I was sorry.

It made me cry though, when you stood up from your seat and told me I was pissing you off. And it made me break down even more when you went on and reprimanded me for saying "I'm sorry" so carelessly.

But I wasn't saying it like that, just tossing an apology absentmindedly.

I said it because, I couldn't understand why you would keep smiling and not have a complete mental breakdown in front of the grown-ups who gave their conspicuously feigned sympathies.

And when you don't understand something, Sasuke - one can only sympathize with the other.

But after losing you and having the village call my team mate a "despicable traitor", I've come to empathize with you.

Completely.

iii. 7 heavens

At twelve, it was your silent ways of showing that you still cared that made me smile and put my faith in you.

Quite obviously, you were never really the one who would just loudly proclaim a random act of kindness for another; that was more of Naruto's thing. Instead, you probably did all of it subconsciously.

Subconsciously, you'd correct my mistakes in training by watching me and then demonstrating. Subconsciously, you'd pay for all the ramen after our team seven monthly dine-outs. Subconsciously you'd save my life and Naruto's, subconsciously you actually did listen to what I wanted for Christmas.

(And don't pretend like you don't know what I'm talking about, Sasuke. If I didn't notice the little things, then I probably wouldn't have been valedictorian of our little ninja academy school class thing. I also wouldn't be assistant head of the hospital, for the matter.)

Because it's the little things that count and the little things that matter. You'd always make all your weapons and everything nice and neat, down to the very detail.

So of course, when it came to your "betray the Hidden Leaf" plan, I'm sure you had it all thought out, of course. And knowing you - you probably already knew that I was going to stop you.

iv. 7 hells

At twelve, it was your flat out rejection that made me realize the pain of losing another.

How you sent me through hell and back with just two words, I won't ever know. I'd spent nights thinking about what they'd meant.

"Thank you, but no."

"Thank you, me too."

"Thank you, but like, hell no, my boyfriend would not approve."

"Thank you..."

Sometimes I wish that you were capable of speaking more than two words in a sentence. But then that wouldn't be like the Sasuke I know, so I wouldn't actually like that.

I remember spending so many days, so many nights, after you left, just walking around Konoha, watching the stars, thinking of you. I wondered if you were suffering now, or if you ever wondered about me and Naruto.

But most of all, I wondered if you had changed. I wondered and feared if the sheer environment, people, and society of Sound, was capable of changing someone so caring and intellectual, as Sasuke Uchiha.

And of course, it did.

I knew the Sasuke I knew had died some day in Sound. And so I cried every night, pretending that he was still alive, and that I was still waiting for him.

But when the pain became just too much to bear - I gave up waiting, and entrusted my dreams to the future.

v. 7 pillars of wisdom

At seventeen, it was your katana at my throat that made me realize that our little love that could've had already crumbled and fell to the ground.

Just what had happened to you, Sasuke? What happened between the time we had last met at the hideout? What happened between fighting Naruto and living in Sound? What happened between living in Konoha and my heartfelt confession?

Did my feelings just really mean nothing to you anymore?

After we had left the area, and for months to follow the incident, the same question would always surface in my mind:

Did you actually want to kill us? Were you actually capable and fully prepared to do so?

At the time of the incident, immediately I would've said no. No, I would've said confidently, Sasuke's is still the Sasuke we know, and the Sasuke we know is someone who cares for his teammates and is cold, but never cruel, towards others. I'd also add softly, that, that was the Sasuke I had fell in love with so many years back.

But looking back now and thinking so long, considering the situation as a whole, I don't think so.

I know you were fully capable of killing us that day, Sasuke. I'll never forget the maniacal laughter you gave that day. And I'll never forget that blood stained expression on your face ether.

vi. 7 circuits of jericho

At nineteen, it was your return to our side in the war that made me realize that yes, it's allowed to forgive and forget.

Of course it just had to be me who first noticed you had come to us with the other Hokages. And of course I just had to be oh-so-surprised and utterly wonderstruck when we first made eye-contact.

I'm sure you thought I looked pretty stupid, just like that good old twelve year old fangirl Sakura. Well, no sir -

for your information, that smirk you gave (and Naruto's little squeaks of...awe) after I punched the hell out of those clones later that day was fulfilling enough to temporarily forgive you for looking down on me. And anyways, you came back by yourself, out of the blue - which to the me in the midst of such a great and confusing war, meant all the more endearing. For years Naruto and I had just tried and tried to get you to come back, and yet, how ironic that in the end, you came back on your own accord (complete with a pretty impossible dream to become Hokage, psycho). And for the first time in just much too long, we all fought as the original Team 7 again - which seriously, just meant so much more than the world to me.

(Also, forgive me for randomly slapping you after it all was over. I just had to.)

vii. 7 pipes of pan

At twenty-one, it was your awkward cliched proposal on one knee and bouquet of roses in hand that made me realize that yes, Sakura - love can always start again.

And Sasuke, after making you read such a long story of us, I suppose my answer to your confession is, has, and will always be, quite obvious in the most exasperated way - hell yes, you stupid psycho bastard.

_Seven, the number of completion._

**End.**

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If you liked it, don't forget to favorite and review! I'd love to hear your feedback (especially since this is my first fanfiction posted, which personally, I hate seeing as an excuse for writers, but hey - it's a bit of a one time only thing, so I felt like I had to).

Thank you so much for reading!

Have a great day!


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